Monday, April 18, 2016

Jaguar to Launch SVO-Engineered F-Pace, XE a Possibility

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If you are looking for the loudest, baddest sports car or roadster out there, chances are you’ll end up with the Jaguar F-Type. And as far as performance sedans go, the Brits have given us some rather convincing propositions in the past. So what about the F-Pace?

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Surely, the range-topping 380-hp version of Jaguar’s brand-new crossover SUV can’t be the final word. It’s an adequate performer but it’s far too well behaved. It starts up in near silence, and the exhaust note is silky, not savage. It’s hardly a match for the BMW X5 M or the AMG versions of Benz’s SUVs.

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It happens that Jaguar is in full agreement with this assessment. That’s why it’s working on a high-performance variant of the F-Pace, engineered by its SVO division and powered by nothing less than the company’s supercharged V-8, rated at well over 500 horsepower. Prototypes are already running, and the high-powered F-Pace could come to market in 2017.

We hear that there’s an even faster Jaguar being tested right now: SVO has engineered several XE sedans with the supercharged V-8. That car would be designed to take on the BMW M3, Cadillac ATS-V, and Mercedes-AMG C63. But there’s no final decision yet, as Jaguar Land Rover is working on an ambitious strategy of electrification, and some are afraid that a V-8–powered XE would send a contradictory message.

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Jaguar, we say: The future is bright, and would be even more so with some supercharged V-8s in your lineup.